10) The Prisoner of Benda9) The Farnsworth Parabox8) Love and Rocket7) Insane in the Mainframe6) The Luck of the Fryrish5) The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings4) Roswell That Ends Well3) The Late Philip J. Fry2) Future Stock1) The Why of Fry

1) The Why of Fry2) Future Stock3) The Late Philip J Fry4) The Luck of the Fryrish5) The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings6) Insane in the Mainframe7) Love and Rocket8) The Farnsworth Parabox9) A Flight to Remember10) Jurassic Bark

Given that we've got an ongoing season, this is subject to change. However I don't think any of the upcoming episodes will break into the top 10.

For the record, any episode mentioned that isn't Luck of the Fryrish is wrong.

I think UrL has a decent enough list.

Personally, I would have trouble choosing between my top twenty, let alone choosing a favourite. Althought if I had to, I would be picking between TLPJF, RTEW, MTS, and TLoTF by the end. No. I can't boil it down any further than those four.

Alright, maybe MTS is number four. Maybe. Perhaps TLPJF is three, TLoTF and RTEW are tied for first. But you put me on the spot there, and I reserve the right to change my opinion at a moment's notice and without telling you. It's hard!

I was going to do it a couple of days ago, but since Nixorbo locked the other I was afraid he'd ban me or something (thinking he wasn't pleased with me for some reason). Anyhow, here is my list:

In season order my favorites include (using full title names, not initialisms - with a few fave quotes thrown in). This list merely indicates the ones that I deem superior (in the 9/10 range) and which I could watch again and again and never tire of them. :

Season 01:Space Pilot 3000I, RoomateHell is Other Robots ("who would've thought Hell would really exist? And that it would be in New Jersey!")

Season 02:*When Aliens Attack ("camera one. camera two. camera three.") *technically Season 01, but was broadcast during Season 02The Problem with Popplers

Season 03:Parasites LostThe Luck of the FryrishThe Day the Earth Stood StupidAnthology of Interest 2 ("but he just said 'woo!'")

Season 05 (the movies):They were alright, but none of them make my favorites list. The first movie, Bender's Big Score, has a sentimental value though, but this is because it was the first new Futurama in almost four years.

Season 06:The Late Philip J. FryBenderama ("All that and a small weiner? This guy's got it goin' on!")Reincarnation

Season 07:nothing yet

If I were forced to pick a top three, they would be:

1st – The Sting

2nd – The Luck of the Fryrish

3rd (tie) – The Day the Earth Stood Stupid / Parasites Lost

Except for Love's Labours Lost in Space I strongly dislike episodes which feature Zapp Brannigan. The character irritates me to no end, probably because I know someone in real life who is very much like Zapp. It would be great to see him knocked down a dozen notches and Kif given the respect he's due (since he is the real hero, Zapp's merely taking credit for what Kif has done), even if for only a few episodes.

Too bad you dislike Brannigan so much, because you are missing out on possibly the greatest Futurama episode ever, "Brannigan, Begin Again".

Nah, I hate that episode because of how he treats Kif and that he gets away with it. When he undergoes the Court Martial he is sentenced by a jury, yet all he had to do was say that it was "mostly Kif's fault" and he gets thrown out too? Nah, I can't stand that.

Not to me. I don't like "humor" that conveys the abuse or exploitation of another person, especially if that person is the good guy. It's not funny to me, even though it's just a cartoon. There really are a lot of people like Zapp in the world and it should make people cry not laugh.

Wacky humor or slapstick is of a different order. The Three Stooges, for example, is abuse but it's outlandish, just like watching a Bugs Bunny cartoon. There Wile E. Coyote gets beaten up and even killed but he's always right back where he started one second later. But Futurama is of a different caliber, and many on the staff are lettered men. It's a cartoon, and silly, but of a higher character.

How is Kif "the real hero"? Zapp takes credit for what others do, regularly. That's fine. Lots of people do that.

But Kif never actually does anything. All he does is follow Zapp around and sigh exasperatedly, or occasionally point out when Zapp is saying something stupid/impossible. Oh, and to fetch the powder.

Zapp, I've already made several arguments in favour of. Most of which are cromulent. Sort of.

This post and this post, for example. This one, too. Oh, and this one (sort of) as well. I suppose this one counts, too. Yeah, there are people like Zapp in the real world and I'm not too happy about that. But in the setting and context of the show, Zapp Brannigan is fucking magnificent. He's a blend of arrogance, incompetance, charisma, and selfishness. Of course that's a horrible mixture in real life. But in a show like Futurama, it's hilarious. So quit yer bitchin'. Zapp adds a rich flavour to the Futuramaverse. It wouldn't be quite the same without him - and yes, I mean that it would be diminished by his loss.

He's a fan favourite. The people who don't "get" it are very much the ones with a problem here.

He's a fan favourite. The people who don't "get" it are very much the ones with a problem here.

Calm down. I'm allowed to hate him as much as you love him. I've been watching this show for over a decade and my opinion is just as valid as yours. Many fans like him because it's a "love to hate him" kind of thing.

I've been watching this show for over a decade and my opinion is just as valid as yours.

Not really. Y'see, your opinion is that Zapp should be "knocked down a dozen notches", which shows that you really don't get what's funny about him. The show has already produced that episode, by the way. BBA focused on Zapp being discredited, his idiocy exposed for the world to see. But, he managed to turn it around. He concocted a plan to rise again (as stupid as it was, you have to admit that it worked, even if it didn't go quite as intended), and ended up back on top. We've seen that in the Futuramaverse, Zapp will only ever rise higher. If you "knock him down a notch", he's going to end up a notch above his original position. He might be incompetent, gullible, foolish, and cowardly. But he's not stupid. Or rather, he's got something in there that allows him to outsmart people despite being dumber than them - he's charismatic and manipulative. Characters like Zapp will always end up on top, both in the Futuramaverse and in real life. They may not be the best at what they're meant to be doing. But they're the best at what they actually do, which is play the system. They play everybody around them to get to where they feel they deserve to be.

Knock 'em down, and they'll not learn from it. Knock 'em down, in fact, and nobody will call you a hero. It's likely that people will see you as the bully, the one in the wrong. Partly, they might even be right.

The most common root cause for not "falling for" the charisma of these people and ending up resenting it is one of the most basic emotions: envy. You're not quite as good as them, and you resent them for being a better "player" than you are.

The most common root cause for not "falling for" the charisma of these people and ending up resenting it is one of the most basic emotions: envy. You're not quite as good as them, and you resent them for being a better "player" than you are.

And I despise using those giand GIFs as if they add intellectual weight to an argument.

Of course futuRAmaMa has every right to dislike a character (especially Zapp, he is funny in small doses but I find him infuriating when he takes over the episode).

Speaking of Zapp, he bears a remarkable resemblence to Captain Sternn from the first Heavy Metal Movie. Both of them are highly decorated Starship Captains who are smug, self-important yet ethically challenged.

Tnuk does have good point about Kif, though. The only time Kif's ever actually been "the real hero" was in Where the Buggalo Roam which wasn't even a real mission, so I'm not sure where you're getting this idea that Kif needs to get credit for all the times he's been the real hero.

Speaking of Zapp, he bears a remarkable resemblence to Captain_Lincoln_F._Sternn...

Yes, I love the Stern character. Especially where the prosecutor is enumerating the charges against him ("You once sold dope - disguised as a nun!") . So yeah, I like Zapp, too, but would enjoy seeing him get his comeuppance every once in a while without bringing down the people around him.

My favorite line from HM that I use from time to time is "You die. The girl dies. Everybody dies."

I agree with tnuk and Jezzem about Kif. I'm sure he could be a capable commander on his own, but he seems to be unwilling or incapable of leaving Brannigan's shadow. If he really wanted his own command, he would have it by now. I actually think that Kif is in love with Brannigan at some level that he may not even be conscious of.

24 replies and still not a single mention of Amazon Women in the Mood (possibly the funniest of Season 3), The Prisoner of Benda (the best of Season 6A), or Law and Oracle (the best of Season 6B)? I'm shocked! Shocked and appalled! And a little turned on...

I'll steal the top-three-episodes-by-season idea from futuRAmaMA, since I find it impossible to compile any sort of Top Twenty-Five Episodes Ever list. (And, actually, judging by my need to add parenthetical honorable mentions to almost every season, even the Top Three Episodes stuff doesn't work too well for me. But whatever.)

Season One

Space Pilot 3000

The Series Has Landed

I, Roomate

(Yes, the first three episodes of the series also happen to be, in my opinion, the strongest episodes of that season. I'm not a huge fan of the first season at all, really; I find Fry kind of unbearable, and the other characters aren't well-developed enough yet to make me care much about their wacky (mis)adventures. (And, yes, I get that this is a problem with the first season of most shows. It bugs me in those instances, too.) This underdeveloped characters thing is sort of a problem with season two, actually, though not to as great an extent. I think the series hits its stride, in terms of characterization and humor and emotion and everything else, midway through the second season--with seasons three and four being damn-near brilliant on a consistent, episode-by-episode basis.)

Season Two

Xmas Story

A Bicyclops Built for Two

The Problem With Popplers

(Also, honorable mentions to "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" and "War is the H-Word.")

Season Three

Parasites Lost

Insane in the Mainframe

Roswell That Ends Well

("Time Keeps on Slipping" and "The Day the Earth Stood Stupid" are also fairly brilliant. Oh, and "The Luck of the Fryrish," of course.)

Season Four

Leela's Homeworld

Less Than Hero

The Sting

(Honestly, it would be easier to list episodes from this season that aren't among my favorites of the series. So, basically, everything but "A Taste of Freedom," "Crimes of the Hot," "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV," and "300 Big Boys" would make it on my, like, Top Twenty-Five list. That's how much I love season four.)

Season FiveMy favorite of the movies is "Into the Wild Green Yonder," so that's four episodes right there.

Season Six (A)

Lethal Inspection

The Late Philip J. Fry

The Prisoner of Benda

Season Six (B)

Law & Oracle

Cold Warriors

Reincarnation

I'd make some kind of troll-y comment about how I cannot think of any honorable mentions from season six, but in honesty I think season six is on-par with season two, quality-wise (with S2 edging S6 out just slightly for me). But it doesn't compare to seasons three and four...which I'm okay with, actually. Season seven seems like an improvement on season six already, so I have high hopes for it perhaps someday displacing some original run episodes from my impossible-to-actually-compile Top Twenty-Five List.

Although it is agonizing to try to decide the rest of the episodes that would make up my top ten or fifteen or whatever (and almost as agonizing to pick the episodes below when there are so many other ones that deserve mentioning), upon contemplating the matter I’d have to say that my top five are “Xmas Story,” “Insane in the Mainframe,” “Teenage Mutant Leela’s Hurdles,” “The Sting,” and, oh, probably “Parasites Lost.” I still mentally divide the original run and the new episodes, with “Reincarnation” dominating the latter group for me, but if you use your relentless logic to point out that since they’re all part of the same show I might as well consider all its episodes to be in the same category of selection, then I’d have to give “Reincarnation” a spot in my top five at the expense of “Parasites Lost.”

Anyway, it occurs to me (and I think it’s neat that this is the case) that these episodes all have some shippiness in common, besides their utter hilarity of course.

24 replies and still not a single mention of Amazon Women in the Mood (possibly the funniest of Season 3), The Prisoner of Benda (the best of Season 6A), or Law and Oracle (the best of Season 6B)? I'm shocked! Shocked and appalled! And a little turned on...

I'd have to agree with most of this.But seriously, what about Parasites Lost? How could you look over Season 3 and not think about that? And while I loved Prisoner of Benda, The Late Phillip J Fry deserves a mention at least.

Also, I will do an entire list when I have enough time to think about it....

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